Bold and unapologetic commentary on race, religion, politics, and everything in between. Viewer discretion is advised.

Healthy Discussion

Today’s video is a revisitation of one of the most important interviews I’ve seen so far about the Health Care Reform issues. On a July, 2009 episode of Bill Moyers Journal, Mr. Wendell Porter; former executive for powerful health insurance company CIGNA, is on blowing a whistle on the practices in the industry. Of particular note was one of his statements:

The industry has always tried to make Americans think that government-run systems are the worst thing that could possibly happen to them, that if you even consider that, you’re heading down on the slippery slope towards socialism. So they have used scare tactics for years and years and years, to keep that from happening. If there were a broader program like our Medicare program, it could potentially reduce the profits of these big companies. So that is their biggest concern.

I don’t know Porter’s complete story. Perhaps he has an axe to grind with his former employer (though he indicated he left on his own steam). Perhaps he truly felt the road to redemption was through uncovering the shameful practices of the industry. Either way, the information shared in this interview needs to become a part of the health care discussion. If we leave the discussion up to the likes of these folks, we’re all in trouble:

Like this:

Related

Posts navigation

12 comments on “Healthy Discussion”

Hey Dre,
I will never understand why it is perfectly O.K., even honorable, for Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Michael Moore, Bill Maher, By Any Means Necessary, Ward Churchill, university academics and a whole slew of left-wing Bush-haters to protest and express their opinions and say how horrible this country is and all the policies they disagree with, but it’s not all right for the other side to protest and express their opinions. I stand by ALL the aforementioned people AND the tea partiers right to express their opinions. Free and open debate is the foundation of a true democracy. If the people supporting health care reform believe they are so right and noble why are they so afraid of any opposing views or questions about their own methods and motives? The right of the people to protest government actions they disagree with peacefully is crucial to our freedom. Need I remind you that only a year ago I was defending the rights of the anti-war people who vilified our soldiers in the most disgusting ways. I did this even as I disagreed with every single thing they stood for. This methodology of pointing out bad actors and ignoring their concerns is going to get us no where. Why is it we have to have an invasive, huge, expansionist government program that affects us all instead of simply addressing the problem of the 15% of us that are uninsured first? We could start with a simple catastrophic insurance for the uninsured and expand state-run clinics, but no, we have to have an enormous, invasive program that even a independent, moderate such as myself cannot support. I have listened to the tea partiers and I agree with a lot of their concerns. Not wanting this over-reaching program IS NOT the same as ignoring the plight of the uninsured any more than protesting the war in Iraq is the same as being a traitor or unpatriotic. This is another example of “Yer either for us or against us” politics. There ARE better solutions that don’t go so far.

thehc :Hey Dre,I will never understand why it is perfectly O.K., even honorable, for Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Michael Moore, Bill Maher, By Any Means Necessary, Ward Churchill, university academics and a whole slew of left-wing Bush-haters to protest and express their opinions and say how horrible this country is and all the policies they disagree with, but it’s not all right for the other side to protest and express their opinions.

Dissent is fine. I don’t think anybody’s opposing that notion (but oddly enough, the right had a field day on anti-war protestors when they dissented. But I digress.) But when you start having vitriol spewing from these “expressions” which includes physical threats on the President’s life, blantant and politically unrelated insults on his family, and a strange subscription to policies based on corporate-sponsored propoganda, that is — and will ALWAYS BE — a problem. I think what makes the noise these folks make disturbing is that they’re against things they don’t even understand. Using repetitive talking points in response to inquiries about their civic engagement has always been the ignoramus approach to doing things…I don’t care WHAT the cause is. Ignorance is ignorance, no matter the political affiliation.

Instead of simply turning the attention to the teabaggers who we KNOW are goons, we should think about the general voting population and how politically uneducated it is. That’s not an insult…it’s an honest assessment of our political system. In fact, I think that’s one of the [unspoken] reasons we have a representative bureaucracy…b/c the general electorate can’t decide for themselves what they need. The problem is (again, this goes for people on both sides): rather than taking some time to get educated on what’s going on, the public relies on fodder provided by certain personalities in the media (as opposed to journalists) to do the deciding for us.

Hey Dre,
I would agree that there is a fraction of the opposition that is doing exactly what you are accusing them of-but there always is. Some peope called Bush a Fascist, a Hitler, but that doesn’t mean that the whole of the people opposing Bush were idiots. I’m sooooo against stereotyping ANYONE and that’s exactly what the MSM is trying to do with the teabaggers and the opposition. I think your statement, “I think what makes the noise these folks make disturbing is that they’re against things they don’t even understand.”, assumes that they don’t understand. I have listened to a lot of the discussions on Hannity, Rush, etc. and even though I don’t necessarily agree with their assessments, I don’t think they’re ill-informed. Quite often they quote the exact legislation in question. I think it would serve everyone to try harder to find a middle ground instead of just assuming that everyone that disagrees with the Dems just doesn’t get it, is misunderstanding it, or is plain stupid.

So let me get this straight: the dude with the Joe Wilson for President sign is NOT backing Joe Wilson. thehc, I actually think you raise GREAT POINTS (and I’m the proudest liberal to be found). And I agree that protecting rights to dissent is the patroitic way of life. But idiots like this – and other fools protesting ignorantly need to get hit over the head with a little bit of truth and facts before they start making all this ruckus.

Mike,
Thanks, I’m just trying to keep everyone’s opinion protected-including yours which I respect even when I disagree with it. I wonder if you’ve really tried to understand their point of view by listening (without grinding your teeth) to their media and see where they’re coming from and what their concerns are. Remember, the Main Stream Media is going to try to spin the opposition’s statements just like Fox and Rush try to spin the Dems. The only way to get the truth is to listen to each side and make your own assessment. Most of the statements on both sides are taken out of context and the opinions are filled with “what if’s” and assumptions about what was meant.